Professor of Social History Peter King

Here and Now Professor of Social History Peter King

The world in which we live is all that we have. We may find that there is much wrong with that world and we may look back to better times. This may cause us to dwell on what has been lost and this might make us angry and desperate for change. But we only have one life, and so instead of mourning what we have lost, we should instead celebrate what we still have. Antimodernism may be defined by what it is against, but the case for antimodernism can be stated positively. If modernism can be defined by its emphasis on change and transgression, antimodernism can be characterised as the love of home. It is this beguilingly simple idea that is at the heart of the antimodern condition. Home is a store of memory and a place of comfort and security, a refuge from the world and a place when we can be ourselves. This sense of home, which extends beyond merely the place in which we live, encloses a particular culture and a way of life. This book presents a positive description of the antimodern. It does this not by looking backwards, but by focusing on what we have here and now and how we can live in the only world we have. Peter King (b. 1960) is a social philosopher and writer focusing on antimodernism and conservatism. His recent work focuses on two areas: first, on what it means to be an antimodernist in the world today; and secondly, on the impact of conservative ideas on public policy. Peter is the author of 16 books, most recently Reaction: Against the Modern World (Imprint Academic, 2012); The Antimodern Condition: An Argument Against Progress (Ashgate, 2014); and Keeping Things Close: Essays on the Conservative Disposition. Peter is currently Reader in Social Thought at De Montfort University.